the people were overwhelming the second day i was at the fair. a person comes to expect a lot of people at a state fair, but this far exceeded what i had thought. it was warm enough that my cherry on a spoon ice cream treat was dripping too fast for my mouth to keep up with it, and trying to get around the throngs and SUV strollers (why? WHY??) while maneuvering my ice cream at the same time was harrowing.
in the past, i had gone to the fair the second time with jane on a thursday evening. while the people were still there, it was manageable. this time was not. the food building alone was enough to drive a person batty. i could see the cheese curd place in the distance; it was mere steps away. but the people between us and the cheese curds were too much to handle. then the lines were winding, long, and sweaty. once you paid, though, the cheese curds were done pronto, and soon the fried, cheesey goodness made its way into my belly. 
once we made our way out toward the outskirts of the fair, down by the eco and pet buildings, the crowd was more manageable. we stopped to watch a lumberjack show at the northwoods tent, and cheered and booed with the rest of the crowd. 
on our way out, charlie picked up some martha’s cookies. there is always a line for the cookies, and while he was in line, i went to get my ice cream. jane stayed under a tree. we stood on the boulevard under the shade while charlie slowly made his way to the counter. cookies in hand, we hightailed it out of there.
i’m not saying don’t go to the fair. i’m saying don’t go on the weekend. next year, we’ll go on our regular thursday evening.